What Should Have Been
by Reillusioned
Summary: Focuses mostly on Kotaro, the story of what can happen when you don't use Fedex.
1. Febreze!

(A/N) This is a NEGIMA! Fic. It does not however, follow Negi very closely. It revolves mostly around Kotaro. If you are confused, go buy the fifth NEGIMA! I know it ends before they deliver the letter, but this takes place when they get back to Mahora Academy. Also, in my head, Nodoka learns she has magic before they get back. You just know it'll happen. This will contain shonen-ai, but none involving Negi. There will probably be some Negi/Asuna later. (bow) Enjoy.

"Kami it's hot" Asuna said.

Negi wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve, it came away drenched. He, Asuna and Konoka were walking into campus a little bit in front of most of 3A. As the sun beat down on them, the young sensei turned back to the group and stopped, spreading his arms wide. "Okay everyone, back to your dorms!" The crowds reluctantly dispersed in the Tokyo heat. Class rep made a point of walking extremely close to her teacher, smiling in a calculated manner as she passed.

Negi sighed. "Boy, am I glad that's over. Why did the Kanto Magic association have to make so much trouble for us?" Asuna smiled and cocked her head to the side, pulling one of her flame-orange pigtails back in the same movement. "It seems like trouble follows you wherever you go, Negi-bozu." Negi's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I know! There must be some sort of magic, magnetic field… Or something…" Chamo popped his head out from behind Negi's ponytail. "So absolutely none of it is MY fault, right?"

Suddenly, a young boy in black pants and jacket came out of nowhere, faster than Negi could go on his wand.

"I've found you, Western wizard!" Negi managed to move in time so the only thing between him and a smashed face was his staff. The black haired dog demon leaped back with a grin. "And this time, cute little book-girl isn't here to read my mind for you!"

"It's you!" Chamo yelled. Not very loudly, since ermines aren't known for their large vocal chords. By now the sky had darkened with the promise of a summer storm.

The boy swept off his tuke, revealing little white dog ears, and bowed exaggeratedly. "Kotaro Inugami, at your service, western wizard. Now," He said, straightening. "I owe you a beatdown."

Negi tensed. The same dog-boy that he had beaten on the way to the Kanto Magic Association had come back for more? Aloud, he shouted. "Fine! But let's get out of plain sight!" He dashed towards the dorms. Most seniors were supposed to be in class, but his group would still be unpacking. 'No choice.' He thought. 'If we can make it to the woods behind the dorms…'

He whipped out the contract card. "Ninety second probation contract, Negi Springfeild and Asuna Kagurazaki!" Asuna put her hands to her side as she ran and yelled "ADEAT!" calling forth the fan.

Sadly, she never had a chance to use it.

"Kotaro Inugami!" A figure yelled from the roof. His voice filled the square entirely. He moved from standing on the edge of the building to crouching , and for a moment it looked as though he had a tail and pointy ears. Distant lightning revealed that it had simply been his ponytail and bangs blowing in the wind, but that was all Negi could take in before the boy jumped down and landed in the bushes below. He wasn't in there for long. Coming out at them faster than Kotaro had, he had soon knocked the dog boy over and was crouching on his chest, grinning maliciously at him.

"Finally found you…" He said, drawing his clawed hands nearer and nearer Kotaro's face. Now that he was closer, Asuna could see that the boy was about Kotaro's age, wearing a backwards baseball cap with bangs coming out of all sides. His arms were bare, the only visible clothing on his torso was an old light grey hoodie with the sleeves ripped off. His pants were only a slightly darker grey and his too-large sneakers were dark blue. His hair was stark white and tied in a pontytail past his waist and his eyes were green with a tint of gold to them.

'My Kami, he's GORGEOUS.' Thought Asuna.

The boy moved as though he was as obsessed with ninjas as Kaede-san was. He snarled down at the pinned dog demon. "You're gonna pay!" Just as he was about to slash Kotaro's face, the storm started. The boy leaped up and twisted in midair with the agony of getting wet, hissing and spitting. He was barely a blur and he made back for the bushes, leaving a confused demon, magician, schoolgirl and ermine.

………………

"What… What was THAT?" Said Negi. Kotaro rung out his jacket on Asuna's floor. Konoka sweatdropped but kept the confused smile plastered onto her face.

Kotaro looked up through perpetually narrowed eyes. "He was a Nekogami. I'm sure of that at least. Our clans have been fighting since the feudal era. At first it was just a few demon scuffles, but after a while these things become inbred. He was probably coming after me to take revenge for my great-great grandfather stepping on his great-aunts pet hamster or something."

All of a sudden, the Nekogami boy was crouching at the edge of Asuna's bunk, smirking down at them. "Now, Inugami…" Konoka squirted him with a water bottle. He twisted around in midair and bolted out the door faster than the eye could see.

The next two days followed in a similar vein. Kotaro had 'temporarily' given up his revenge on Negi and everyone started carrying old Febreeze bottles filled with water. Three days later found Negi, Asuna and Kotaro having coffee in the square with Evangeline.

"So…" the midget vampire said. "It's a problem with one of the Nekogami clan?" She had, after all, been in Japan for fifteen years. And since she didn't care about passing, most of her nights were spent not on homework but researching the culture of the land she was trapped in. Kotaro nodded through slitted eyes. He had taken an immediate liking to the girl, but he smelled blood on her and nobody had thought of taking the time to explain her origins.

As if on cue, a white haired boy appeared standing a few feet away from them, pointing dramatically.

"You're not getting away this time, Inugami!"

Kotaro lost it. "Look, will you quit following me? I'm sorry if this is about some ancestor of mine stepping on your great-grandmothers per human but-"

"You mean hamster right?" Interrupted Negi with a mildly frightened look.

"Uh, sure." Continued Kotaro. "But the point is, I'm sorry and PLEASE stop following me! I have no idea what you're after but just go away!"

The Nekogami blinked in surprise. "You mean you don't know?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

The white haired boy scratched his chin. "This shall require some more thought." With that, he bowed. "By the way, my name is Shinji." Then he disappeared into the crowd.


	2. Flashback time!

(A/N) Rei: Strange story, I know. I shall consult my 'beta, who is totally willing in this…

JJ: sob

Rei: And get back to you. Short chapter, I promise the next one will be longer. Can anybody guess who the Inugami 'girl' is?

The woman had white hair down to her feet, and it had many tiny, intricate braids. Her eyes were bright green with just a tinge of gold to them. Atop her head were two small, jet black ears. The innocent looking child standing at her feet shared her colouring. He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Hahaue?" She smiled and looked down at him. "Yes, Shinji-chan?"

"Why do I have to get married?" She chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that for some time, Shinji-chan. You'll get married when you're ready."

"But why to I have to get married to an Inugami?"

"Because our families made an agreement that we'd bring the two houses together with our children. You're going to marry an Inugami so that our families can stop fighting, finally.

Their matriarch, Amejitsudo, had a daughter a few months before you were born. You're going to get married on your sixteenth birthday."

She put a hand on the boy's head and ruffled his short hair. "Then our families can share the land in peace." She said. _'Though I'm not all too sure what your children will look like._' She thought.

Shinji smile and buried his face in her volumous kimono. "Okay, hahaue.

)----(

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"_ The voice filled the entire valley, leaving a small man running from the large house and down the side of the hill.

Emararudo came into the main room to talk to her husband. "How many times have I told you not to yell like that? I just had Shinji settled for bed."

Kuryu sighed and buried his head in his hands. "That was a messenger from Inugami. Apparently they forgot to mention that their 'daughter' turned out to be a boy." His wife's eyes widened. "What?" Kuryu sighed again. "I knew we shouldn't have made plans when Amejitsudo was still pregnant. You can never tell."

Emararudo put her hand to her mouth. "How will we tell Shinji? He's had his heart set on this since he knew how to talk. He wants to be the one that makes peace between our families."

Her husband turned to her. "That won't happen now. The children of the two families are both boys."

"This isn't what should have been…" Emararudo said sadly.

"Nothing ever is."

)---(

Kotaro scratched his head and leaned back, yawning. Negi sweatdropped. "How long are you planning to stay with us?"

The dog boy grinned and look up and the ten-year-old sitting on the lower bunk. "Long as it takes, Besides, I don't take up much room."

It was true. Kotaro had simply curled up on the rug and fallen into a deep sleep every night that week. The only one who even made a slight complaint was Asuna, who kept stepping on him in the morning.

"Anyways, I'm not leaving until I beat you to a frothy pulp, and I can't do _that_ until our feline friend leaves me alone."

Chamo leapt out from being buried in the sheets. "Why to you want to beat up Aniki?"

Kotaro snickered. "What, you think I'm after revenge? Naw, it's more of a pride thing, really."

Suddenly, Shinji walked in to the room. Everyone tensed and held out their old Febreze bottles filled with water. The cat demon held up his hands in a gesture of peace and winced preemptively. The rest lowered their weapons suspiciously as Shinji walked over to the fridge, stuck his head in, and emerged chewing on the remnants of a chicken.

He then proceeded to curl up beside Kotaro on the floor, and a few minutes later was snoring.

Kotaro looked down at the peacefully sleeping cat boy, trying to look only mildly shocked. After all, it wasn't every day your mortal enemy curled up at your side and fell asleep.

Kotaro found himself fighting to hold down the urge to pet the kitty boy.

)---(

Asuna sighed. "Well, it's not like they can enroll, so they can't follow us around all day."

Chamo pulled a cigar out of nowhere and went into his sob story stance (SSS). "I'm not too sure about Kotaro, but the Nekogami boy can stay in the apartment. He'd make a great housewive."

Asuna sweatdropped and tensed up, hoping Shinji had been out of earshot.

"I heard that, weasel!"

Apparently not.

Sounds of a brief scuffle followed, indicating Kotaro was holding the cat boy back from charging into the other room. Short silence ensued, then the quiet noise of purring drifted to Negi's ears, causing him to sweatdrop.

)-(

Please review. I'm not usually a review whore but it lets me know SOMEBODY is reading this...


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